Pisco Masters UK selects winner
Mandi Tabatabai of London’s Cocktail Trading Co was named the winner of Pisco Masters UK, held by trade organisation ProChile UK.
Six finalists gathered at London’s Rhum Tavern on 15 May for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Chile.
Entrants had to create a unique cocktail using 35ml of Waqar pisco and up to six additional ingredients. They then had eight minutes to create and present their cocktail, which should have incorporated storytelling about Chile’s heritage, terroir and history.
Tabatabai’s cocktail was named the Coquimbo Blush and featured maqui, a Chilean plant with edible purple berries, alongside pink peppercorn ‘squash’ and lucuma. Alongside her cocktail, she created a handmade pop-up booklet explaining her ingredients and story.
Tabatabai will now have the opportunity to explore the pisco-producing regions of Atacama and Coquimbo.
She said: “It was really refreshing to participate in a competition for a spirit category that is gaining momentum in the UK and bar industry through institutions like ProChile. It’s a different side I got to see of the industry: how a country promotes their national product (rather than a specific brand) to a wider audience while engaging bartenders.
“It seems like I’m making more and more Pisco Sours by the day, which is great. Yet, those same guests who love Pisco Sours often ask the same question: what exactly is pisco? I was one of them back in the day, but it goes to show that all the love and appreciation for pisco (at least in the UK) doesn’t get attributed to their cultures and countries of origin.
“Where Waqar is the iconic artisanal Chilean pisco, I wanted my drink to reunite ‘forgotten’ Chilean ingredients found in the UK, where native fruits and berries are sold here as powdered superfoods rather than sold for their capacity as flavours and ingredients.
“I designed a little pop-up book to map out my thought process of reimagining these ingredients through a British scope: a maqui berry pink peppercorn ‘squash’, lucuma ‘golden syrup’, lime and Waqar’s beautifully juicy pisco in a lush pink highball.”
Second place was awarded to Saša Rudivic, bar manager at London’s Callooh Callay, who served up a pisco-inspired riff on a Gimlet. Meanwhile, Daniel Kaizen of London’s Cavita restaurant took third place for his Mexican-inspired serve, which combined Waqar and Nocheluna Sotol.
Both Rudivic and Kaizen received a bottle of pisco and a cocktail set.
This year’s judging panel included Hannah Lanfear, advocacy and content manager at Speciality Drinks, Lauren Bowes, bars editor at The Spirits Business, and Vitek Melichar, the competition’s 2024 winner.
Bowes said: “We were truly blown away by the quality of cocktails created on the day, and it was really tough choosing our top three. Luckily, we were unanimous in our choice to award Mandi the first prize. She really went above and beyond with her presentation – and the cocktail’s flavours reflected the story.”
The other finalists were all from London: Angelo Lo Greco of the Stables Bar at Milestone Hotel & Residences; Bai Mai of Low Country; and Lexi Davies of Trailer Happiness.
ProChile’s trade commissioner Nicolas Poblete Bravo added: “The level of the competitors and the cocktails prepared in this edition reflect how Chilean pisco has become an excellent ambassador of our country, not only through the flavour and quality of the grapes produced in northern Chile, but also through the story behind it and the way Chilean regions are connecting with the British market.”
This month, Chilean pisco producer Capel became available in the UK through an agreement with Toll House Spirits.
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